


The Value of a Moment

by MeadowHarvest



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Halloween, It's My Party And I'll Hide If I Want To, M/M, So Much Candy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27185446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeadowHarvest/pseuds/MeadowHarvest
Summary: Little Patrick Brewer goes to a Halloween party on the rich side of town and meets a mysterious boy.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 51
Kudos: 134
Collections: Schitt's Creek Trick Or Treat





	The Value of a Moment

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SCTrickOrTreat](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCTrickOrTreat) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Patrick is a kid whose parents take him trick or treating in a rich neighborhood so that he'll get better candy. At the fancy home of the Rose family, they have a popcorn machine AND a cotton candy machine- but the best part is when Patrick meets another little boy hiding from all the other kids in the bushes. Patrick thinks the boy's costume is really cool, but no, that's just his normal clothing.
> 
> Notes:  
> Takes place on Halloween, 1991.  
> I aged Patrick up a few years so they're the same age.  
> Title comes from a quote by Dr. Seuss: "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

“Simmer down, kiddo,” Patrick Brewer’s dad said to him. “Keep it up and you won’t get to go out at all.”

Patrick tried, but it was so HARD to simmer down. It was Halloween, and he was going to go trick-or-treating AND to a Halloween party. And there was no school tomorrow, so he could stay up late and have a sleepover with his cousins.

He bounced in his chair at the kitchen table.

“Finish your hot dog and then you can get into your costume,” Dad said. Patrick didn’t want to eat dinner, but Dad said he had to eat something besides candy tonight. Patrick ate two more bites and then jumped off his chair. 

Dad looked at the plate, at the last bite of hot dog and bun, but he didn't say anything besides, “Take care of your plate, bud.”

Patrick cleared his plate as fast as lighting and then tore down the hallway and up the stairs. Bonnie followed him, barking the whole way. 

“Put your thermals on under your sweatsuit!” called Dad, but Patrick already had his thermals pulled out of their drawer. Maybe if he wore his thermals he wouldn’t have to wear his coat.

In two seconds, he was back in the kitchen, dressed in his thermal underwear and his green sweatsuit. “Do my face paint!” he said to Dad, bouncing on his toes. “Please!” 

“Okay, but you’ve got to hold still,” said Dad. The green face paint tickled as he stood between Dad’s knees. “Patrick. Stand still.”

Patrick was still as a mouse while Dad finished smearing the paint all over his face with a little squishy triangle. He set it down and said, “Whoa. You look like Michelangelo. Turtle power!” 

Patrick tried to turn so he could go to the bathroom to look, but Dad had him trapped between his knees. “Uh oh. You’re stuck. I guess you can’t go trick-or-treating. Or to a party. You live here now!”

Patrick laughed so hard as he tried to escape, but Dad held on tight. “What if I have to go to the bathroom?” he asked, and Dad laughed, too.

“Not on me!” he said, unlocking his legs. “Good idea, though. Go to the bathroom before Mom comes back inside.” 

Patrick zoomed to the bathroom and went really fast, and he dried his hands as Mom came inside from sweeping the driveway and path to the house. 

“Mom! Mom Mom Mom!” Patrick shouted, jumping out of the bathroom and running to her. 

“Got him all nice and wound up for you, Marce,” Dad said, kissing Mom on the mouth. Mom smacked Dad on the butt, which made Patrick snicker. 

“Sweetheart, put your blue jacket on,” Mom said, and before Patrick even opened his mouth to tell her he doesn’t want to cover up his costume, she continued, “Put it on under your sweatshirt if you want.”

Patrick ran to the coat closet under the stairs and got his jacket and sweatshirt on really fast. His mom helped him with the sweatshirt so he wouldn’t smear his face paint. 

She helped him slide on his backpack that she covered with a big round piece of felt so it looked like a turtle shell, and tied his felt mask over his eyes.  
  
“I need my numbchucks and my pillowcase,” Patrick said, jamming his green toque onto his head.  
  
“Your nunchucks are on the couch, and don’t you want your pumpkin bucket instead?” asked Mom. 

Patrick was already halfway up the stairs. “No! Me and Joey are bringing pillowcases so we can get more candy!” he shouted over his shoulder.

By the time he came back downstairs with an old striped pillowcase, Mom was in the kitchen eating a hot dog. 

“Go trick or treat at Lynn and Brian’s, Morrisons’, Wyzockis’ and Kirschners’ and then come back and we’ll go to Aunt Gail’s,” she said. “And don’t let Bonnie out!”

Patrick was careful not to let Bonnie out as he stepped onto the front porch. Dad was already out there with a big bowl of candy and Patrick’s jack o’ lantern shone gruesomely from the top step. 

Patrick ran around to the neighbors’ houses to show off his costume and collect candy from them. Lynn even gave him two bags of M&Ms.

After yelling “Cowabunga!” to Megan and Seth Wyzocki, who were only little three-year-olds, Patrick looked both ways and crossed the street to get home. Mom was on the porch, holding her car keys and Patrick’s overnight bag.  
  
Dad reached out and grabbed Patrick. “Have fun at the Richie Riches’ house, buddy, and be good for Aunt Gail and Uncle Bill.” He gave Patrick a hug and a smooch on the side of the head. “See you tomorrow!”

“Bye, Dad!” said Patrick, jumping down the stairs and running to Mom’s car. He was already buckled in by the time Mom finished kissing Dad bye and got in the front seat.

It was a quick drive to his cousins’ house, but Patrick couldn’t wait. He tumbled out of the car as soon as they pulled into the driveway. He and Joey yelled when they saw each other. They were both dressed as Michelangelo because he’s the best. 

Chris ran out of the house in his Raphael costume. He had wanted to be Michelangelo, too, but he was only six, and they couldn’t have three Mikes. Aunt Gail came out of the house with Alison, who was crying and dragging a jacket behind her. 

Patrick and Joey didn’t even wait for their moms before they set off running to the house next door. “Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!” they bellowed in unison. 

Patrick was having so much fun. His pillowcase grew heavier as they bolted down the block from house to house, trailed by their moms and Chris and Alison, who had finally put her jacket on over her Ariel costume. 

“Two more houses and then it’s time to go to the party!’ called Aunt Gail. Patrick felt a thrill of excitement run up his spine. He had never been to a Halloween party before, and this one was on the rich side of town. Patrick’s mom saw an article in the newspaper about a Halloween party for kids at this rich people’s house, and she called Aunt Gail, and they were all going. Patrick was extra excited because he knew the rich people’s side of town gave away full-sized candy bars. 

They dashed to the last two houses and then ran to Aunt Gail’s car. “Patrick and Joey, get in the wayback,” she said, helping Alison into her booster seat. Patrick and Joey climbed over the seat to get to the wayback, bucked themselves in, and then dug around into their pillowcases for candy.

By the time they pulled up to the Richie Riches’ house, Patrick’s teeth hurt from Starburst. He stuck kind of close to his mom when they got out of the car, because the house was BIG and there were a lot of people around. They walked up the driveway, where there was a man standing in a tuxedo and cape. “Welcome!” he said. “There are refreshments for the children and adults in the back.”

“Look, honey,” Mom whispered to Patrick when they walked up the driveway to the backyard. “Look at all the fun stuff you can do!” 

Patrick looked. There was a popcorn machine, a cotton candy machine, and a bounce house and trampoline and games. There were kids everywhere. There were also really tall clowns, but Patrick knew they were just people on stilts. 

“Can I go?” asked Patrick,. He didn’t want to walk around with his mom like a little kid. Mom nodded. 

“Don’t eat too much candy. Come back here by 9:00, okay?” she said. “Aunt Gail and I will be over there.” She pointed to a tent with a man pouring drinks. 

Patrick nodded. He held up his Ninja Turtles watch on his wrist. “Okay!” he said, and then he and Joey turned and ran away fast, before Chris or Alison could follow them. 

It was really, really fun at first. Joey and Patrick ran to a table with cupcakes and each grabbed one. They were barely finished before a waiter in a tuxedo and cape offered them a tray with cans of pop. Patrick grabbed a Sprite and downed half of it, burping in Joey’s face. 

“Hey! There’s Justin and Anthony and Marcus!” called Joey, and he was off running to them. Patrick didn’t go to the same school as Joey, so he didn’t know Justin or Anthony or Marcus. They yelled at Joey, and all of a sudden, they disappeared into the crowd of kids, and Patrick was alone. 

Kids were running all around him, and it was very loud. He felt off balance a little bit, like when he learned to ride a bike. He turned around uncertainly and saw Alyssa and Rachel and Julie from school, but they were girls, so he ignored them. 

Patrick started walking. He wouldn’t have even minded finding Chris or Alison, even though they were babies. He was busy looking for anyone he knew when he ran smack into someone. 

He looked up and saw a witch with dark hair and lots of makeup. She was dressed all in black, and even though Patrick knew she was probably not really a witch, she was still a little bit scary. 

“What a fleet-footed little terrapin!” she said loudly, and Patrick wondered if it was a spell. She didn’t smile, and _that_ was a little bit scary, and he didn’t know what to do, so he did the first thing he could think of, which was to dash into the bushes nearby. 

The problem was, someone was already there. 

“Ow!” someone said as Patrick barreled right on in. “I’m here!”

“Sorry!” Patrick breathed, eyes adjusting to the darkness. His eyes fixed on a boy his own age, with dark hair and dark eyes. Patrick slumped to the ground. He took deep breaths, trying not to cry like a little kid. 

“Are… you okay?” asked the boy. Patrick swallowed and nodded. 

“Yeah,” he said. “I just… I saw a witch.”

He pointed out of the bushes toward the witch, who was motioning to a group of kids who looked scared. 

The boy looked sad all of a sudden. “That’s not a witch. That’s just my mom.”

Patrick felt bad. “Sorry. I thought she was a witch. She’s dressed like one.”

The boy frowned. “That’s just how she dresses.” 

Patrick gave the boy a little bit of a smile. “She’s not so much like a witch,” he said, and the boy gave him a little smile back. 

It was nice, there in the bushes, their backs against the wall of the house. It was quiet. 

“Why are you hiding?” asked Patrick. The boy frowned again. 

“I’m not hiding. I’m concealing myself,” he said. Patrick wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. 

“What’s your name?” he asked suddenly. 

“David,” said the boy. 

Patrick smiled at him. “I’m Patrick.” 

David returned the smile a little bit. 

“How old are you?” asked Patrick.

“Eight.”

“Me too,” said Patrick. “But you don’t go to my school.”

David shook his head. “I go to Powell Academy.”

Patrick knew that school. It was for gifted kids, which meant extra smart. 

“Are you smart?” he asked David, who looked down at his hands.

“No, but we’re rich. My dad said we can go anywhere if we give them enough money.”

Patrick was impressed. He had never met a rich person before. “Do you have an airplane?” he asked.

David nodded his head. “Yeah, but it’s a lease,” he said. He didn’t look happy. 

Patrick nodded, too. “There’s a girl in my class named Elyse.”

David stared at him. Patrick wasn’t sure what to say. 

“I like your costume,” he said, because he did. David was dressed all in black, like a Dracula. 

David looked sad again. “It’s not a costume. This is just what I’m wearing today,” he said softly. 

Patrick felt a little bit embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t want to wear a costume because I was going to have to be a prince, and I didn’t want to.”

“You were?”

“Yeah, my sister is a princess and they were going to make me be a prince but I said no.”

“You should have been a Ninja Turtle!” said Patrick, sitting up straighter and grinning at David. 

“Why?” asked David. 

“Because they’re cool and you can have numbchucks!” Patrick swung his nunchucks and hit part of the hedge they were sitting behind. 

“They’re actually called nunchaku, and if I was going to be a Ninja Turtle, I wouldn’t be Michelangelo.”

“Why? He’s the best one. He’s funny and he loves pizza.”

David sighed. “I like Leonardo the best. He wears blue and he’s very good at being in charge.”

“That’s kind of boring,” Patrick said. He liked David, but Leonardo wasn’t exciting. If Patrick talked about this with Joey, they would shout and wrestle and laugh. But David seemed different. He didn’t do anything when Patrick said Leo was boring, except look down at the ground and fiddle with his shoelace.

“Where are your friends?” asked Patrick, mostly to change the subject because David still looked sad. 

“Um, I don’t really have any friends here,” said David softly. “We just moved here right before school because my mom is filming a miniseries.”

“Your mom’s a movie star?” asked Patrick excitedly. He never met a movie star before, and now one had called him a terrapin!

David nodded. It’s only then that Patrick remembered what he’d said about friends.

“I’ll be your friend,” he said to David. Patrick loved friends, and his dad always said you can never have too many. But he thought maybe it was hard when you didn’t have any at all.

David looked a little worried. “You will?” he asked. “Is it because I’m rich? Or my mom’s an actress?”

Patrick shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I think you’re nice. I like you.”

David smiled, and Patrick felt warm inside. He helped turn that frown upside down.

“Do you want to go play?” asked Patrick. “Or go get candy?”

David’s eyes lit up when Patrick said candy, but he still looked a little worried. “There’s lots of people around,” he said slowly.  
  
“We can go together,” said Patrick, and David smiled again. 

They carefully climbed out of the bushes and Patrick fixed his backpack. David stood really close to him. It was really loud and there were lots of people everywhere. Patrick reached out his hand to David, who slid his hand into Patrick’s. It was nice and warm. Patrick felt like he did when Chris or Alison needed his help, which was funny because David was his same age. But maybe even big kids needed help.

Patrick led David over to a fishing game, and they each took a turn with the pole to fish out big bags of candy, and Patrick was right, they did have full-size candy bars! He ate a big KitKat really fast, but he shared it with David, who smiled. 

As soon as they stepped away from the fishing booth, David’s hand found its way to Patrick’s again. Right away, a lady with a camera swooped in on them.

“How about a photo?” she asked, and Patrick grinned as she took their picture. In just a second, the camera spit the square out, and she handed it to them before flitting away.

“You can have it,” said David, looking a little uncertain. 

“Thanks,” said Patrick, waving the photo back and forth so they could watch the picture develop. As soon as their faces appeared, he stuck it into his candy bag and pulled David along. 

“Let’s do the haunted house!” he said over his shoulder to David. 

“Okay,” said David, but he looked scared. Patrick didn’t want to say it, but he felt a teeny bit scared, too, but there were little kids coming out the exit, so maybe it wasn’t too scary. His heart thumped as they walked into the entrance, and it was even darker inside than it was outside. 

He felt David close to him, and Patrick was glad David was there. There were strobe lights flashing, so it was hard to see as they walked along the little path inside the tent. There was a witch stirring a cauldron, and Patrick heard David take a sharp breath. 

“That’s a lightbulb in her cauldron,” he whispered in Patrick’s ear, and it tickled the hair on Patrick’s neck.

“Yeah, it’s so fake,” Patrick whispered back, delighted when he heard David snicker. 

They squeezed hands as they walked into the next room because it was so dark, and Patrick was so glad to have someone safe to hold onto. But then a ghost jumped out and yelled “BOO!” and David and Patrick screamed and clutched at each other.

“You’re a fake!” yelled Patrick, and David laughed a big belly laugh and they both ran to the exit. 

They got back outside and both of them were laughing so hard.

“That was so dumb!” said Patrick.

“Yeah, that was for babies,” said David, and then he was pulling Patrick towards a lady who wasn’t wearing a costume. She was holding a little princess who was sound asleep. 

“David!” she said, smiling down at them. “I was just looking for you, my love.”

“This is Patrick,” David said. “He’s my best friend!”

Patrick smiled at the lady, and she smiled back. “How nice!” she said. “But it’s almost time to go inside. It’s late.”

Patrick looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 9. His stomach felt wobbly; he didn’t want to leave. 

“But there’s still a party!” said David, sounding like Patrick when he whined. 

The lady smiled again. “I know, my love, but it’s time to go.”

David looked sad but then smiled again. “Can Patrick come over next weekend?” 

The lady looked a little bit sad. “My love, we’re moving home next week. Your mother’s filming is done.”

David looked like he was going to cry. Patrick felt a little bit like he was going to cry, too, and he didn’t know why. 

“Why don’t you give your friend a hug goodbye and say goodnight?” The lady sounded gentle. 

David let go of Patrick’s hand and Patrick leaned into him for a hug. He heard David sniffle a little bit and then they stepped back.  
  
“Come, my love. Your sister is heavy.” 

David turned to follow the lady. “Goodnight, David,” called Patrick. He heard a soft reply before David disappeared into the crowd. 

“Goodnight, Patrick.”

Patrick was all alone again and it was dark and loud. Most of the little kids were gone, and it was just big kids now. His eyes felt wet, and he swiped at them, but then he got green face paint all over his hand, and his Michelangelo paint was all messed up. Now he really wanted to cry. 

He found his way back to the place where he was supposed to meet his mom. She was there with Aunt Gail, and Chris and Alison were there, too.  
  
“Hi, sweetheart, did you have fun?” Mom asked, and Patrick started to cry. “I don’t want to go!” he said through his tears. He didn’t know why he was crying. 

“It’s late. Where’s Joey?” asked Mom. 

“He left me!” Patrick tried to stop crying. Aunt Gail sighed. “I’ll go find him,” she said, and she plopped Alison on Mom’s lap. 

“Are you all right, sweetie?” Mom asked gently.

Patrick nodded. He pulled out the photo and showed it to Mom. “I made a friend and he’s moving, so I’ll never see him again.” 

Mom smiled at the photo and pulled Patrick to her. He crowded alongside Alison, who didn't even wake up. 

“It looks like you made a nice friend and had a fun night. I’m sorry your new friend is moving. Hey, no more candy,” she said as Patrick reached back into his bag. 

Aunt Gail came back then, pulling Joey along with her. “Where’d you go?” he asked Patrick. “I was looking for you.”

Patrick shook his head. “You ran away from me!” he said, mad. But then it was a funny feeling he had inside, because he realized he was happy Joey left, because otherwise he wouldn’t have met David, and he liked meeting David, even if he was moving away.

“Enough,” said Aunt Gail, waking up Chris so he could walk to the car. “Let’s go. You all need to go to bed.”

They all walked down the long, long driveway, and as they left, Patrick saw David’s mom who was not a witch. “I bid you all adieu!” she called, waving at everyone with a glass in her hand.

“That’s quite a costume,” Aunt Gail said to Mom in a low voice, and Patrick wanted to tell them that she wasn’t a witch, that she was Mrs. Richie Rich, but he was tired. He decided he wanted to keep some things to himself, and he tucked those memories away as he buckled his seatbelt. 

He didn’t know that soon the candy would get eaten, the photo would eventually end up in a box, and the details would slowly sift away from Patrick’s memory until it was just a wisp that he’d barely think about.

\-----

Patrick flips through shows and movies, trying to find a good one to watch, when he comes across one he hasn’t thought about in years and years. 

“Hey, Interflix added this series that was filmed in my hometown,” he calls into the kitchen, where his husband is making potato leek soup. 

“Which one?” he hears faintly, but it’s drowned out by the sound of a spoon hitting the soup pot.

Patrick heaves himself off the couch and moves to the kitchen doorway. “It’s called ‘The Bleeckers of Maysville.’ It was this huge deal when they were filming all around town for a few months. The only thing I remember is that one of the stars threw a huge Halloween party.” He pauses. “What?”

David is staring at him. 

“Um, my mom was in that? We lived there while she was filming, and... we threw a Halloween party.”

Patrick feels a grin split his face. “Are you serious? I went to that party with my cousins! God, I think that’s the year we were all Ninja Turtles?”

David doesn’t look excited, though. He actually looks pale. Patrick feels a pit in his stomach. “What’s wrong?”

David’s staring at him again. “The bushes.”

Patrick’s confused. “What are you talking about?” 

But as the words are leaving his mouth, flashes of memory flit across his brain. The bushes. Hiding. A boy his age, a boy with dark hair and sad eyes.

“Oh my God,” he says, staring back at David. “It was you.”

He registers the clatter of the spoon as David drops it on the counter as he crosses to Patrick, grasping Patrick’s face in his hands and kissing him, kissing him, kissing him. 

Patrick feels dampness on his face as he kisses David back before pulling him into a hug.  
  
“I was so sad to leave you,” says David wetly into his ear. “I liked you so much.”

Patrick remembers. “I liked you, too.”

“That’s how it was all the time back then,” says David, pulling out of the hug. “At least when I was a teenager, I discovered that sex and drugs could fill that loneliness.” 

He laughs a harsh, rough sound and swipes at his eyes. “Poor little rich boy, I know. I just… felt seen that night. I can’t describe it.”

Patrick tightens his grip around David’s waist. “I know, David. I saw you. I _see_ you. And you know as long as I live, you’ll never be alone.”

He leans in to press a kiss to his husband’s temple. “And if I die, you’ll still never be alone, because I’ll haunt the shit out of you,” he whispers, and it’s the perfect thing to say, because David laughs and slaps his shoulder. 

Later, Patrick’s mom will text him a photo of an old Polaroid of two little boys, one smiling brightly, one a little more hesitant, and he and David will smile at their past selves and hug their present selves a little closer, and whisper sweet things about their future. 


End file.
